Scottish municipality of Fife one recipient of funding for geothermal heating project

Fife: "The award was made from the Scottish Government’s Geothermal Energy Challenge Fund, supported by the Low Carbon Infrastructure Fund"

Fife Council and Resource Efficient Solutions are delighted to be a partner in the successful Fife Geothermal bid.

The Fife Geothermal group aim to develop renewable heat opportunities around Guardbridge and is one of only five heat projects to receive funding from the Scottish Government’s Geothermal Energy Challenge Fund.

Geothermal is a low carbon, renewable energy source that could provide heat to Fife’s homes and businesses indefinitely. Heat makes up over half the energy we need in Fife so we need to find new local renewable sources to satisfy this demand. An added bonus is that it has the potential to reduce fuel poverty and provide new job opportunities.

Working in partnership with St Andrews University and others, the Council and Resource Efficient Solutions aim to use the Guardbridge exercise as a launch pad for wider scale developments in the future.

“Reliable, secure and affordable energy is important for Fife both for our communities and for business. Crucially, heat makes up over half the energy we use, so Fife Council is keen to support work to find local sources of renewable heat.

“Fife looks a good area for geothermal heat – that is basically hot, wet rocks – that could potentially supply the heat source to provide hot water and heating to local homes and businesses.

“We’re therefore delighted to be a member of the Fife Geothermal group, and to be a part of one of only 5 projects to secure funding from the Scottish Government to investigate opportunities around Guardbridge”, said Councillor John Wincott, Sustainability Champion for Fife Council.

The Fife Geothermal group is a partnership of Fife Council and Resource Efficient Solutions, the British Geological Survey, Green Business Fife, Iain Todd Consulting, Ramboll Energy, the University of St Andrews, as well as Scottish Enterprise.

The award was made from the Scottish Government’s Geothermal Energy Challenge Fund, supported by the Low Carbon Infrastructure Fund, the first strategic intervention established under the new European Structural Funds Programme. They are the first support for geothermal projects in Scotland following a 2012-2013 study which identified significant potential for geothermal heat as a renewable heat source.